Jumping puppet



Feb. 10, 1953' G. wEiss 2,627,700

JUMPING PUPPET Filed April 5, 1947 ILL-5. .1 2 1 5- Z IN VEN TOR.GERHART WEISS svblzw A T TORNE VS leaps into the air when Patented Feb.10, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 4 Claims.

This application relates to a jumping toy. More particularly it relatesto a jumping puppet which is adapted to jump when jarred or dropped.

An object of this invention is to produce a mechanical jumping toy whichneed not be confined in a box.

Another object of the invention is to produce an easily constructedjumping puppet which dropped on its feet.

The novel features characteristic of this invention are set forth withparticularity in the appended claims. The invention itself, however,both as to its organization and its method of operation, together withadditional objects and advantages thereof, will best be understood fromthe following description of specific embodiments, when read inconnection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view of a jumping A puppet in expandedposition.

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the device of Figure 1 but in acocked position.

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of a spring holder.

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional View of a modified type of spring holder.

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of another modified type of springholder.

The puppet of this invention comprises a body portion l which mayconveniently be the representati-on of the trunk of any animal or aperson, a flexible skirt portion 2 which is collapsible as shown inFigure 2, and a pair of feet or pedal portion 3.

Attached to the trunk of the toy in any convenient way is a springholding means A which has side walls, an end M against which the base ofa spring .5 is adapted to press, and another end portion 12 containingan orifice it through which the shafts i and 8 are adapted to move. Theshaft 3 is attached at its lower part to the pedal portion 3 andcontains an enlarged portion i at its upper part. Where the shafts l and8 come together there is formed a shoulder 9. The orifice It in thebottom of the container A is somewhat larger than the shaft 1. The upperpart of the shaft i contains a piston 6 adapted to hold the end of thespring 5.

The device is operated as follows. The pedal portion 3 is compressedagainst the action of the spring 5 until the shoulder S is above theorifice Hi of the spring container l. The pedal portion 3 is pushed toone side so that the shoulder 9 catches on the inside of the orifice l0.

The puppet is now in cocked position. Any slight jarring such as thatcaused by dropping the puppet for a few inches so that it lands on thefeet 3 will knock the shoulder 9 away from the orifice Hi and cause thespring 5 to act against the feet 3 so that the puppet jumps high intothe air.

In the manufacture of the puppet it is preferred to make the pedalportion 3 of relatively light material because this portion of thepuppet comes to rest momentarily when the puppet is dropped and if tooheavy will develop a considerable amount of inertia.

Since the height to which the puppet will jump also depends upon theweight of the other parts, the body is also preferably made of lightmaterial, such as plastic or light metals. The spring holder 4 may alsobe made of plastic.

The spring container 4 is primarily for the purpose of keeping thespring in' line and it can be a tubular device of any shape, such asround, oval, polygonal, or it may be a framework of rods. It ispreferable, however, to make the holder 4 of noncircular shape so thatthefeet 3 will not rotate with respect to the trunk l of the puppet.

Three possible shapes for the spring container 4 are shown in Figures 3,4 and 5. In Figure 3 the spring container 4 is made oval incrosssection. In Figure 4 the spring container 4' is rectangular incross-section and the piston 6 is of similar shape. In Figure 5 thespring is supported by four frame members l3, l4, l5 and I6 which areattached to a top H and to a similarly constructed bottom (not shown).The piston 6 of Figure 5 is made in the shape of a cross. Any shape ofpiston which will prevent rotation of the feet with respect to thespring container is preferable.

In place of the shoulder 9 the rod 8 may be notched to catch on theorifice It. The shoulder 9 can also be replaced by a projection on therod 8.

The skirt 2 may be united to the pedal portion and to the body in anysuitable way, such as by cementing or by sewing. The skirt 2 ispreferably made of fabric but it may be made of other flexible material,such as rubber.

The spring 5 may be placed between the bottom of the trunk portion andthe pedal portion if desired. Bendable legs may be added between thefeet and the trunk of the body so that in the cooked position the figureappears with the knees bent.

In another very practical modification a spring which is normally incompressed position is held on the trunk at the lower end and isattached to the rod at its upper end so that in'cocking the toy thespring is expanded and in firing the spring pulls rather than pushes theparts apart.

If desired the shaft or rod 8 can be omitted or replaced by two coastingelements, one on each portion of the device, which are adapted to catchand interlock loosely so that they can be released on a slight jar. Thespring may also be placed attached directly to the body and the feet andbe of such a size as to substantially fill the skirt portion between thebody and the feet.

Although certain specific embodiments of this invention have been shownand described, it will be understood that many modifications thereof arepossible. This invention, therefore, is not to be restricted exceptinsofar as is necessitatedby the prior art and by the spirit of theappended claims.

I claim: 1. A mechanical toy shaped as a unit object of animative type,said toy comprising a trunk portion and a pedal portion connectedtogether and movable relative to each other for setting and actuatingthe toy, said trunk portion including a spring supporting containerextending in the integral downwardly facing shoulder approximatelymidway of its length, the shoulder being dimensioned to freely passthrough the opening of the planar surface of the container, the upperend of the element having a flat member of greater diameter than saidopening, said member being positioned within the spring supportingcontainer underlying the spring therein, said toy being positioned incocked position by movement of the element to compress the spring withthe movement of suiiicient length to place the shoulder above the planeof the upper face of said opening then moving the element laterally toposition the shoulder in overlying relation to the margin of such upperface of the opening and then relieving the spring pressure sufiicientlyto place such shoulder under frictional engagement l with such margin,the foot of the pedal portion providing the toy supporting face, saidcocked toy being tripped by jarring the assembly sumcient to release theshoulder from cool-zed position to thereby permit sudden springexpansion with consequent bodily leap vertically of the toy.

2. A toy as in claim 1 characterized in that the pedal portion elementis attached to an elongated 4 shaft having a cylindrical upper portionand a cylindrical lower portion of differing diameters, both cylindricalportions being movable through such container opening, the uppercylindrical portion presenting the greater diameter to thereby producethe downwardly facing shoulder,

3. A toy as in claim 1 characterized in that the trunk and pedalportions are connected by a fabric element depending from the trunkportion and loosely enclosing the elongated element to thereby permitfreedom of toy expanding movement by spring action in response totripping of the cooked toy while maintaining the elongated connectingelement concealed.

-4 A mechanical toy shaped as a unit of animative type, said toycomprising a trunk portion and a pedal portion, said trunk portionhaving a cavi-ty, said cavity having an upper wall and a lower wallhaving a wall opening which communicates with said cavity and which hasa vertical axis, and a spring positioned within said cavity and beingcompressible along said axis, said pedal portion being located beneathsaid trunk portion and having an elongated shaft which extends alongsaid axis slidably through said opening and into said cavity, saidspring being positioned between the upper wall of said cavity and theupper end of said shaft, said shaft having means to prevent sazd shaftfrom leaving said opening, and also having a mid-way downwardly facingshoulder, said pedal portion being laterally movable within said openingto permit positioning of the shoulder upon the upper marginal side ofsaid wall opening to thereby permit the toy to be cooked by suchpositioning and with the spring compressed preliminary to animation ofthe toy and with the toy at rest on a definite support, said positionedand cocked toy being rendered active for animation effects by fallingfrom such support through a short distance to contact the pedal portionwith a firm surface and thereby jar the shoulder from its marginalposition, the resultant release of the spring compression and theresistance of such surface being cooperative to cause the toy to berapidly and bodily raised from such surface to simulate a leapingaction.

GERHART WEISS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,657,936 Nebel Jan. 31, 19281,803,366 Stetson May 5, 1931 1,918,122 Naue July 11, 1933

